The Assam chief minister made the request to the railway minister in New Delhi on Tuesday. He urged Trivedi to declare the Northeast Frontier Railway as a dedicated rail zone exclusively for northeastern states.

Gogoi said Assam badly needed a new daily express train between Guwahati and Chennai via Kolkata and another between Guwahati and Mumbai, bringing to light that currently, it takes very long for people in Assam to travel to the southern and western parts of the country.